Serenity in the Garden

The "Water-dividing Stone" is placed at the bottom of a Japanese garden cascade where the torrent splashes evenly. (Mizuwake-ishi) The mizu wake stone is symbolic of the mythical carp that, through unwavering effort, climbed to the top of the waterfall to become a dragon, a regular teaching parable in the Soto Zen monastery. This stone is essential for all wonderful cascades...the sound it makes as water hits it is reason enough to place one there!

Double Cascade by Jan Johnsen Roberta Chinsky Matuson is an expert on increasing profitability by maximizing employee contribution. Her website is www.yourhrexperts.com . She writes that quiet people are often the most productive, explaining that, Being quiet strengthens focus and calms others. Being quiet gives you the space to delve deeply into ideas. She says,"  at the end of the day, it’s not about the noise one makes, but what one actually gets done." So it follows that a workplace should provide quiet spaces that encourage productivity! I hereby suggest to Google, Apple and Microsoft, among other businesses that they include Serenity Spaces for their employees to work in.... ( I can show you how to create them) A few ideas: Cascades and fountains Shaded benches or nooks Reflexology Paths to enhance concentration. Zig Zag Bridges and lots of outdoor outlets!

The most well known reflecting pool in the United States is the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. This huge rectangular pool measures a little more than 2,000 feet long and is 167 feet wide and spans the length between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial.     It reflects both facades of these structures which is a magnificent sight to behold, especially at night.   Its excellent mirroring quality is due to the fact that it is only 30 inches deep at its deepest point! In addition, the interior finish of the pool is a dark color with hardly any lighting. This makes a dramatic contrast to the adjacent light stone buildings. At night these structures are illuminated and the light bounces off the dark, still water, creating a spectacular reflection. This also works during the day when direct sunlight strikes the buildings.

A Kyoto garden, Japan In Japan, the act of sanctifying with water is called ‘misogi’ . This practice traces its origin to a Japanese tale about a primordial god who cleansed himself of worldly ‘tarnishing’ with water.   The belief that water rids us of the impurities of the earthly world is the basis for the low, stone water basins we see in Japanese gardens. It is also why they traditionally sprinkle water at the gate of a home in the morning and evening. The Japanese are not alone in their tradition of using water to bless people and places. Many great religions value ‘sanctified’ water. Catholicism sees water that has been blessed as a symbol of God’s grace and as a “wellspring of all holiness...” Thai Buddhists make ‘lustral’ water and believe that they will be blessed if they drink it or have it sprinkled on their head. At their new year, the Thai people scent bowls of water with flower petals, and sprinkle these sacred waters to cool, cleanse and...

Tony Exter and Mark Bartos of the BEMdesign gro up in South Pasadena, California used a three-tier bubbler pump to fashion a geyser emerging from a magnificent four foot diameter flower shaped water feature. “The idea of the flower itself came up rather spontaneously,” says Exter of the water feature.   “We tried to develop something symbolic of the plant material in the garden.” The pump sends a gentle spray of water into the air then it falls onto the tightly packed, vertically placed Arizona flagstone slabs and percolates into a 4 foot wide by 10 inch deep underground reservoir. Tom Poplin of Horizon Landscaping in Pasadena installed the fountain.  This reservoir is simply an earthen basin covered with a thick rubber ‘pond liner’.   A metal grate was set within the basin as a support for the stacked stone. Fragrant Lavender and Sage ring the bubbling fountain softening the rocky scene. How magnificent!

( Naumkeag in Stockbridge, Mass...a must-visit)  “In life, as in art, the beautiful moves in curves.” ~ Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton (pool and landscape by Johnsen Landscapes & Pools) Perhaps it is my reaction against the tight grids of modern site design, or maybe it is my love of natural forms, or possibly it is due to my being a female... but I love curves in the landscape . I am not referring to the squiggly kind or the ill considered hose-on-the-ground variety but the sweeping curves that draw your eye around and onward. (Red and White Border - Jan Johnsen, Johnsen Landscapes & Pools) The lure of a curve entices you to see what is on the other side. (no Belgian Block here! - Jan Johnsen, Johnsen Landsapes & Pools) A curving line makes you feel good. (The Mastery of Gaudi - Parque Guell, Barcelona) It may even make you stop and ponder the scene sometimes. (Naumkeag aga...

Photo by Jan Johnsen all rights reserved   July 20, 2012 - Several years ago I planted small vining plants at the base of a black railing along some steps... I wanted to soften the look and add some green. I used Dutchmen's Pipe' (Aristolochia macrophylla Zones 5-8). It was named for a Greek named ... Aristolochos in the first century, who had learned from a dream that it was an antidote for snake bites. Aristolochia serpentaria (Virginia Snakeroot) is thus named because the root was used to treat snakebite, as "so offensive to these reptiles, that they not only avoid the places where it grows, but even flee from the traveler who carries a piece of it in his hand". Many species of Aristolochia are food for larvae of swallowtail butterflies as they become unpalatable to most predators by eating the plants. Plant Dutchmen's Pipe for a dense cover, to feed the butterflies and to keep the snakes away!             July 19, 2012 ...